Karma
by Beledi1113
Summary: SPOILER ALERTS FOR EPISODE 15 based on what I've seen in the promo and sneak peek. What if Castle was at Nieman's clinic in Costa Rica when he was missing? This is my AU idea and NOT based on ANY promos and sneak peek. The SPOILERS are his actions from the promo and sneak peek that I've woven into my AU version. For those of you spoiler free, I'm not going to point them out.
1. Chapter 1 Revelation

**Karma**

_Summary_: SPOILER ALERTS FOR EPISODE 15. And definitely AU (probably). Nieman had a clinic in Costa Rica. What if that was where Castle had been for part of the 2 months he was missing? No major character deaths occur in this fic; if they did, I'd warn you here. Rated T for violence and swearing, because this is Nieman and Tyson after all. Beckett is **not** pregnant in this fic.

Author's Note: Well, I said I wasn't going to write any more fanfic for a while, but this plot bunny jumped in my head this morning based on a comment in _Returned_ and just will not go away and I haven't seen this done yet on fanfic. This probably won't be too long and hopefully I'll finish it before next Monday. Since when did Monday become the best day of the week?

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**Chapter 1 – Revelation **

An eerie silence hung over the small hallway outside of the morgue even though it was crowded as the team awaited Perlmutter's verdict.

Had the impossible happened? Had the person they had found, almost unrecognizable from the gruesome damage to her face and body, been Beckett? Or was this just a sick game that Nieman and Tyson were playing?

Castle had warned them – screamed at them – after he rushed the elevator doors as they closed and tried to pry them open physically to get to Tyson and Nieman.

Beckett would be dead by the time they found her unless they moved immediately, but TPTB wanted to take this slowly so they wouldn't spook Nieman and Tyson, making them run again.

And now this was the result.

By the time Tory had tracked down where Beckett had been taken, they had been too late.

The abandoned warehouse was empty except for a gurney sitting in the middle of the room, surgical lights at both ends of the table, bloody scalpels scattered on the floor.

They found the body strapped to a chair. The victim was cool to the touch, the front of her clothes – the same clothes that Beckett had been wearing – covered in blood. The deep cuts on her face made her look like the Joker, the sides of her mouth hanging open in deep slits. The other atrocities to her body had been too mind-numbing to really register at this point.

Whoever this was, they had died slowly and in agony, that much was apparent.

The most chilling evidence to this point was that the victim's blood type matched Beckett's and the finger prints had also matched. Now Perlmutter was running other tests to determine if this really was Beckett.

Castle closed his eyes as he ran a hand down his tear-streaked face. Waiting was never his strong suit – if he could, he would push Perlmutter aside to run the tests himself. And then he'd find Nieman and Tyson and kill them in the most gruesome way that he could imagine. What had Tyson said to him in that hotel room – how he was drawn to death – how it thrilled him. Hell, when he caught up with them, he'd show them how thrilled he was.

The phone in his pocket vibrated, and he reached for it and thumbed it on before he realized what he was doing.

The message almost made his heart stop. It was the same thing that Tyson had said on the bridge. It began simply with "I got your girl" and a video of Beckett, untouched, lying on a table in a hospital gown, trying to free herself from the restraints. "And you have what we need. Tell no one and come alone if you don't want her to end up like the woman in your morgue. You know where to go."

His racing thoughts were interrupted by Gates' voice as she walked into the hallway.

"I've talked with the DA and 1PP," the captain said softly, noting the mood. "They've put out an all-points bulletin on Tyson and Nieman—"

"And what the hell good is that going to do?!" Castle roared. "They should have done before they even left the precinct. We knew who they were! And we let them just walk out of there. Now, they're gone—" he pointed to the morgue "—and _**she's**_ dead. Because they wanted to wait. I can't believe you people. Twice now, you've put Beckett in danger because you've had your collected heads up your asses." He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head as his eyes flashed dangerously. "I can't be here right now – I can't be around you."

Castle turned and stomped off, fury emanating from him, as the team looked at each other in surprise and almost guilt. Yes, they had screwed up again – they hadn't moved fast enough.

Gates took a breath and looked at the team. She started to speak when Perlmutter rushed out, holding a chart in his hands.

"It's not Beckett," he said quickly. "That woman had plastic surgery to make her look like Beckett. And the fingerprints – they were graphed on. It's very subtle – whoever did this was an expert."

The hallway became even quieter at the news. If this wasn't Beckett, that meant that Tyson and Nieman still had her.

Lanie clutched Espo's hand harder.

"Let's get a move on this now – let's bring her home safely," said Gates quickly. She looked at Ryan. "Call Castle and let him know."

Ryan paused for a moment, frowning. "I think he already does," he responded with a flash of insight. "He said 'her' before he left, not 'Beckett'. I would swear on my Nana' grave that he knew that wasn't Beckett in there."

"Find him now," growled Gates.

# # # # # # # #

The warrant for Castle's phone records was quickly granted and Tory scrubbed them, finding the last text message and the video from an unknown, untraceable number.

They then tried to locate Castle's phone, but to no avail. The battery must have been taken out.

Gates informed the DA and 1PP of the development and they quickly threw more resources on the case, giving the team whatever they needed to resolve this satisfactorily.

The only trace they could find of Castle was when he got into a taxi at the front of the precinct. The driver said he dropped him off several blocks later near a subway stop. The transit video showed him getting onto a train. They never found him again on any other video.

"He's obviously trying to avoid detection," said Tory as she watched the video. "He could be wearing some type of hat – changed jackets."

"Keep looking," said Gates, frustrated. "It's imperative that we find him."

She and Ryan walked back into the bullpen as Espo turned to them.

"I think I've found something." He pulled up the article on his screen. "Nieman had a clinic in Costa Rica. This article in the _La Prensa Libre_, their daily paper, was published about five months ago – during the time that Castle was missing."

They looked over his shoulder at the article and accompanying picture that showed a building in flames.

Espo pointed to the screen. "It says that Nieman's surgical clinic was destroyed by a fire that started in the kitchen earlier that week. Most of the staff and patients got out, but 1 doctor and 4 patients died." He paused as he read and then looked at them. "But the body of one patient was never found. He was identified as a white male, American, about 40 years old, who had been severely injured in a car wreck and was there seeking treatment. His name was Mr. Dirk Rectos."

"Son of a bitch," said Ryan as he wrote the name on the board. "Derrick Storm."

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	2. Chapter 2 Ventings and Rumblings

**Karma**

_Summary_: SPOILER ALERTS FOR EPISODE 15. And AU. Nieman had a clinic in Costa Rica. What if that was where Castle was for part of the 2 months he was missing? BTW, no major character deaths occur in this fic, because if they did, I'd warn you here. Rated T for violence and swearing, because this is Nieman and Tyson after all. And Beckett is not preggers in this fic.

Author's Note: Wow – thanks for all the follows, favorites, and reviews; they really mean a lot. You rock. Just waiting for Monday night to see what really happens. And wow, there are a lot of good follow-up fics to the 2-part arc out there. Thanks for sharing those. BTW, I fixed Derrick Storm's name in the first chapter. Thanks for pointing that out, GeekMom.

Whoops – forgot the part where I say that I don't own Castle – my bad.

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**Chapter 2 – Ventings and Rumblings**

After exiting the cab and before walking down to the subway, Castle bought a baseball hat and pair of glasses with thick black frames, which he put on out of sight of any surveillance cameras. He had removed his jacket in the cab and wadded it up under his arm so he couldn't be traced by his clothing.

As he entered the subway car, he made sure he didn't look at the camera and chose a seat behind a large man who was standing up. That blocked the view of the camera at the front of the car.

It always fascinated and dismayed him how the most simple of things could trip up the most sophisticated of systems and now, he was taking full advantage of those flaws.

Tyson was right – he did know where to go although he had never been there. Hopefully, if luck or the universe was with him, he would get to Boudreau's apartment before Tyson arrived.

As he sat there, being jostled by the bumps in the track, his mind flashed back not to warehouse where they had found the body, but back to Hollander's Woods, where he found out exactly what he was capable of.

Contrary to what he had told Kate, he had been a Boy Scout, but that only lasted a couple of months. Martha was between plays and she just couldn't afford the extra expense at the time.

But after what happened in the woods on his last camping trip, Castle was relieved when she told him the bad news that he had to leave the troop. Of course, he had put on the expected sulky face and then congratulated himself on such a fine performance because his mother had no idea of the real reason he didn't want to go back any more.

He closed his eyes as the memories came back. They didn't haunt him very often because he had never been one for much retrospection and rumination. In fact, if he was truthful, they didn't haunt him at all because he would have done the same thing all over again – the same way he would shoot Tyson again if given the chance. And hopefully this time, he would really kill him.

Ed, the oldest boy in the tent, had woken them up around midnight, whispering that it was time for the spider hunt.

That was one of the most anticipated experiences at camp – sneaking around quietly in the dark, looking for spiders as they spun their webs, and then shining the flashlights at them and being spooked by their glowing eyes. And there seemed to be thousands of them that night as they walked through the woods.

But they also found out there was something else lurking in the darkness when they turned to go back to camp – two wild dogs stood snarling on the trail, blocking their path.

And Ed, who was on the fast track to become an Eagle Scout and someone Castle admired, bailed first, telling them to run, grabbing Castle's arm because he was closest, and pushing him in front of him away from the dogs.

The younger boy, Jessie, wasn't as fast and the dogs quickly overtook him. Castle could still remember his screams to this day. He yanked his arm out of Ed's grasp, saying that they had to go back to help, but Ed kept running.

Castle hesitated for a moment as his anger flared and then picked up the biggest branch he could find and ran back to help Jessie.

It had only taken 2 blows. The first one connected with the side of one of the dogs and shattered its ribs, based on the keen that came out of its mouth as it hobbled away. The second blow split the skull of the dog that had bitten Jessie on the leg and looked like it was going to eat him.

So Castle learned four things that night. One – the sight of gore didn't bother him as he toed the second dog to make sure it was dead and wouldn't jump up and bite him. Two – when he was angry because someone he liked or loved was in danger, he grew calm on the surface, focused, while a seething volcano lurked beneath the surface that eventually erupted into an explosive rage at whatever was causing the danger. Three – once the danger was gone, the volcano calmed as fast as it began.

Maybe it was in his nature or something he had picked up from watching his mother handle situations in life. Martha referred to it as 'righteous indignation' – the ability to be fierce when protecting something or someone – and she could indeed be fierce when the situation called for it.

Castle had quickly belted up Jessie's leg to stop the bleeding and helped his friend back to camp.

And there he learned the fourth thing – good people sometimes lied to protect themselves. The scout leaders, having heard the commotion, were rushing down the path to meet them while Ed walked out of their tent like he had been there all along.

Ed said he had seen the two boys going to the latrines, and that's when one of the dogs bit Jessie.

Jessie was in shock and not sure what had happened, just that Ricky had saved him.

Castle simply said that he had hit them with a stick and left it at that.

So now, Castle could feel the slow burn of righteous indignation fuel the volcano within him and knew what he had to do.

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Luck was with him and Castle reached the apartment before Tyson.

After Espo had kicked in the door, it had been hastily repaired and secured by locked by a padlock, but Castle was easily able to pop it open using a screwdriver for leverage.

He didn't have long to wait as he stood in the corner of the darkened kitchen, waiting expectantly, as the front door opened slowly and Tyson ducked under the crime scene tape to enter the apartment.

He waited until Tyson was in the middle of the room before rushing him, spinning him into the wall.

"Where is she?" Castle demanded.

"Kill me and Beckett dies," wheezed Tyson as Castle applied pressure to his neck. "If we're not back in 30 minutes, Kelly starts her work."

Castle let up and stepped back.

"Good boy," Tyson said, smirking.

One vent – Castle punched Tyson with a right hook, sending him sprawling back against the wall, blood trickling from his mouth.

There – NYPD finally had their DNA sample because he was sure that Espo and Ryan were on their way here now.

Tyson wiped his mouth with his back of his hand. "I'll give you that one," he said as he straightened up. "But don't do that again if you want to see Beckett alive."

Tyson took a pair of handcuffs out of his pocket. "Now give me your hands."

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	3. Chapter 3 Eruption

**Karma**

_Summary_: SPOILER ALERTS FOR EPISODE 15. And AU. Nieman had a clinic in Costa Rica. What if that was where Castle was for part of the 2 months he was missing? BTW, no major character deaths occur in this fic, because if they did, I'd warn you here. Rated T for violence and swearing.

Author's Note: Once again, thanks for all the follows, favorites, and reviews; they really mean a lot. Still waiting for Monday night to see what really happens. Wonder if they are going to put out a sneak peek? There is one more chapter after this one.

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**Chapter 3 – Eruption**

Beckett lay quietly on the table as she watched Nieman out of the corner of her eye. The doctor had made no attempt to approach her, had not even said anything to her since she had woken up strapped to the table.

As frightening as the silence was, the most unnerving thing was how Nieman kept checking her watch and then looking over at Beckett impassively, almost as if she was on a deadline, and then examining the scalpels, syringes, and packets of gauze that lay on the top of a cabinet.

Whatever the doctor had planned, it wasn't going to be pretty.

Beckett looked around the small room she had woken up in. It looked like an abandoned office. Old florescent light fixtures flickered occasionally and exposed pipes that had been painted beige at one time stuck out of one wall. This building had obviously seen better days.

There were no noises either – none of the constant traffic noise that always blanketed New York City. In this distance, she could occasionally hear a horn, possibly from a boat.

Based on the light coming in the narrow windows near the ceiling, it was day, but she had been kidnapped at night. How long had she been out? And what had they done to her so far?

One thing she could tell was that she was thirsty and the gag in her mouth wasn't doing anything to help that.

If she could only get her hand loose, she thought as she wiggled the arm that was hidden from Nieman's view.

"You'll only hurt yourself doing that," Nieman's voice cut through the air, stopping her movement. "And then I'd have more damage to fix."

She walked over to where Beckett lay and switched on a procedure light that was positioned near the head of the table.

Beckett closed her eyes and turned away as the beam hit her face, only to have Nieman put a hand on her chin to move her face back into the light.

"Such beautiful features. I could have worked wonders with these," Nieman said as she examined Beckett's face intently. "A little nip here, a little tuck there," she said, running a finger gently over her cheekbones, "and you're 20 again."

Nieman turned off the lamp and then shook her head slightly as she walked back to the cabinet. "It's a shame that won't be happening now. Such a waste," she tisked.

They both looked at the door as it opened and Castle walked into the room, his hands behind his back, jacket slung over his shoulders. Tyson walked close behind him with a gun trained on him.

Eyes wide, Beckett shook her head, vocalizing 'No!' through the gag.

Nieman smiled at Castle as if she was greeting a patient. "And there's the guest of honor. I hope you liked our little present at the warehouse and it gave you the proper motivation."

Castle glanced over at Beckett and then looked back at Nieman. "I'm here – so what do you want?" he asked flatly.

Nieman looked at him. "When you were in Costa Rica—"

Castle shook his head, interrupting her. "I've never been to Costa Rica."

Nieman smiled. "Ah, but you were – at least part of the time when you were missing. You checked into my clinic to have some work done after a serious car wreck and then my clinic burnt down."

Castle frowned at her. "So this is about revenge?"

Nieman shook her head. "No, as much as I would like it to be. I've had to close clinics before rather abruptly. And then I'd just move and open a new one."

She walked over to him. "This is business. While you were there, you stole something from me – or rather from some of my clients and they want it back."

Castle shook his head again. "I don't know what you want because I don't remember."

Nieman studied him before she responded. "And I believe you. But it's there," she said, tapping him lightly on the forehead, "just waiting to be pulled out."

It was Castle's turn to study her. "So if you knew who I was, why did you let me into the clinic? Why not just say 'no'?"

Nieman pursed her lips slightly. "Because I wasn't there. I was in New York when it happened."

Castle paused before he spoke. "So whoever kidnapped me knew you weren't there and couldn't identify me."

Nieman scoffed at him. "No, you weren't kidnapped – you went voluntarily. But after Costa Rica, who's to say what happened?"

Castle's eyes narrowed as he thought and then the light flashed on. "You did cosmetic surgery for the CIA."

"Little tweaks every now and then when an asset's cover was blown. The government wanted the best that money could buy and I got the chance to start a clinic in Costa Rica – stay out of the spotlight for a while."

"But I bet that wasn't enough for you," Castle continued as he watched her. "You took on other clients, clients that the government didn't know about."

Nieman smiled slightly. "It did take them a while to find out. And they wouldn't have if Dr. Lordes hadn't suspected something. So they brought you in to find out if his suspicions were true."

Castle shook his head. "But why me? Why not someone in the agency?"

Nieman shrugged. "Why not you? A famous author severely injured in a car wreck on the way to his wedding? Perfect cover story. If you had stayed in the US, some tabloid would have found you before you were ready to make your reappearance with your 'new face'. Of course, the bandages helped conceal the fact that you really weren't injured and Dr. Lordes was your contact."

She tilted her head at him. "It must have really stuck in your craw when you found out that the government just gave me a slap on the wrist for what I had done. But then again, I never forget a face I cut," she said looking at Beckett, smirking slightly, and then back at him, "and they wanted to be sure that their agents were safe."

"So what is it exactly that I stole?" Castle queried.

"The faces and new identities of some of my more recent patients," Nieman said. "My business partners heard about that and want to know who's been compromised."

"Why don't they just wait until the CIA picks them up?" Castle quipped. He looked at the expression on Nieman's face. "Oh, they have, haven't they? Picked some of them up. And the rest are in hiding. That's why your clients aren't happy."

"Yes," admitted Nieman. "And these are not very forgiving people." She picked up her phone and thumbed it on. "We're ready."

"So how do you know it was really me? Not some clone that the CIA made?" Castle asked.

"Because of this," Nieman said as she ripped open his shirt, scattering buttons on the floor and pointed to the gunshot scar on his side. "I always have the security videos at my clinics uploaded to a server. You got that the night the clinic burnt down. You were trying to run back inside to help the patients and the man you were with shot you to stop you."

Tyson chuckled. "Yeah, your exact words were 'Dad, what the hell?'. And I thought I had parent issues, but mine never tried to kill me."

The door opened and a man in a suit walked in, carrying a bag which he sat on the counter and opened it to pull out a syringe. He nodded at Tyson who moved to push Castle into a chair.

And that's when the volcano erupted.

When Castle was researching the Storm series, he wanted to make the fight scenes as authentic as possible, so one of his CIA contacts recommended a street fighter named 'Mr. T'. Castle had his doubts the first time he saw the middle-aged, small, almost scrawny man in his 'gym', but that quickly turned to amazement when 'Mr. T' took down a man twice his size in a few seconds without breaking a sweat. Yep, Castle thought as he watched him, that's who he wanted to be when he grew up.

'Mr. T' had 2 rules that he drilled into his students' heads. Rule 1 was to never ever get in a fight, so most of the time he preached peaceful conflict resolution because killing someone could quickly blow an asset's cover. Rule 2 was that if you broke rule 1 and got in a fight, you'd better be damned sure that you'd win. Take your opponent out as quickly as you could – never hold back – never worry about hurting the other person because when you did fight, it was because they were going to kill you.

As Tyson reached for him, Castle brought his right fist up and connected a solid blow to the man's wind pipe, making Tyson stagger backwards and collapse against the wall, gasping for air.

Castle then quickly grabbed a scalpel off the cabinet as he pivoted towards the man in the suit and sliced open his arm. The man dropped the syringe and grabbed his bleeding arm with a howl as Castle brought the palm of his left hand up to crack his nose, dropping that man to the ground also.

Nieman hesitated for only a second before picking up a scalpel and rushing at Beckett, but Castle was on her in one large stride, grabbing her by her hair and jacket, and spinning her away from Beckett.

She stumbled and Castle knew by the way she hit her head on the side of the cabinet as she fell and then landed in a heap on the floor, neck bent at an odd angle, that she wouldn't be getting up again.

Castle quickly picked up the scalpel that Nieman had dropped and cut the restraints that were holding Beckett down. He pulled her into a tight hug as he helped her sit up.

"Kate, I thought I had lost you," he whispered into her hair as she held on to him. He held her for a moment longer and then let go.

"Stay right here," he said as he turned his attention back to the men on the floor. He quickly used the handcuff key he had hidden in his shirt sleeve to undo the handcuff still attached to his left wrist and chained the two men together, linking their wrists through a pipe.

He then patted them down to make sure they didn't have weapons and cell phones on them, and used gauze to tie their hands together and gag them.

Castle picked up the gun that Tyson had dropped and stuffed it in the pocket of his pants.

As he was securing the men, Beckett swung her legs over the side of the table and swayed slightly as the blood rushed back to her head. Castle was there to steady her.

"Can you walk?" he asked quietly.

Beckett nodded as she smiled at him. "Yeah. Just a little dizzy and stiff."

Castle helped her off the table and supported her as she wobbled slightly. She straightened after a moment and nodded.

"My gun?" she asked, holding out her hand. "Tyson took it."

"Then we need to get out of here now," said Castle. "That's not Jerry Tyson – that's the real Boudreau."

Beckett gave him a look.

"Gun – right," said Castle, pulling the gun out of his pocket and handing it to her.

# # # # # # # # #

Castle slowly opened the door to the room they were in and peaked outside. He didn't see anyone in the hallway and took Beckett's hand as they quietly walked to the outside door he and Boudreau had come through.

"Damn," Castle breathed as he tried it. The double-keyed deadbolt was locked and he knew who had the key, which meant the real Tyson couldn't be far away.

He looked at Beckett and motioned with his head to go back into the room where she had been held.

Boudreau and the other man still lay on the floor, dazed by the attack.

Castle knelt next to Nieman, felt for a pulse, and then rolled her onto her back to fish the cell phone she had used out of her pocket.

He thumbed it on and frowned. "No bars," he said to Beckett. "Maybe by the front door, unless you want to climb on my shoulders and try the windows," he suggested, pointing upward.

Beckett rolled her eyes at him and shook her head.

They quickly walked back to the front of the building, making sure they stayed away from any windows.

"Got some," said Castle as they stopped in a small room by the front door.

He thumbed the phone back on, dialed 911, and handed Beckett the phone.

The operator answered almost immediately. "911 – what is your emergency?"

"This is Detective Beckett, NYPD badge 41319," Beckett said quickly, "I need immediate backup assistance – there's a shooter on the loose – but I don't know my location."

She looked at Castle hopefully. He shook his head 'No' – Boudreau had covered his eyes during the trip so he had no idea where they were, only that it taken almost 30 minutes to get here, the fear that they would be too late growing in the pit of Castle's stomach as each minute passed.

The operator replied after a few seconds. "Uh, ma'am, the GPS location says you're at the Empire State Building."

Beckett shook her head. "No, no – that's not right. We're not anywhere near there."

"Ma'am, I suggest you enable the wireless networks on your phone and then call back immediately," the operator replied.

"You think," said Beckett as she hung up the call.

She was about to thumb the phone back on when they heard the door being unlocked and then footsteps resounding down the hallway.

"Go, go, go," whispered Castle as he pushed her up and out of the room towards the door.

They had barely made it out the door when the scream of "No!" reached their ears and the footsteps started thundering back in their direction.

They paused for a second to get their bearings. Old freight containers were scattered throughout the yard, creating a maze. They could see a high chain-link fence with razor wire at the top in the distance.

Castle pulled them into the shadow between 2 containers as Tyson ran past. They waited a few seconds and then ran back the opposite direction, using the containers as cover.

Beckett stumbled a few times, but each time, Castle kept her upright and moving as they approached the fence that surrounded the abandoned shipping complex.

They had seen the front gate between two of the crates, but it looked like it was locked, so they looked for another way out, perhaps a hole in the fence.

They paused between two crates for a moment as Castle worked with the phone, switching it to wireless networks.

Beckett was about to call 911 again when a shot rang out and a bullet pinged off the gravel several feet away from them.

That started the chase again as they played cat and mouse.

Castle finally spotted a hole in the fence and they sprinted for it.

The next thing he knew, he was skidding on the gravel on the ground and then Tyson was pointing a gun at his head.

When she heard Castle go down, Beckett turned and trained her gun on the pair.

"Tyson, put your gun down," Beckett warned as she squared herself off to make less of a target. "It's over. We've called 911 – the cops will be here in a minute."

"Really, Detective?" mocked Tyson. "I don't think so. Not unless they're looking for King Kong." He smiled. "You shoot me, I shoot him. So who's going to blink first?" he said, staring at them.

"Neither of you," said a voice behind Tyson. "I've called the police – put your guns down, both of you."

Tyson looked over his shoulder at the ancient security guard standing several feet behind him, the gun quavering in his hands.

"I'm Detective Kate Beckett of the NYPD," Beckett said to the security guard. "This man is Jerry Tyson – he's wanted for multiple murders."

"And you're on my property," replied the guard.

His attention wavered for a second as the sounds of sirens blared in the distance and Tyson swung his gun towards him.

Just as suddenly, Castle scissor-kicked Tyson's legs out from under him and Tyson landed with a thud in the hard gravel with an umph.

Because she couldn't get a clear shot, Beckett could only watch as the two men grappled for the gun.

A shot rang out and the struggle stopped as the police cars pulled into the yard.

Tyson rolled over on his back, trying to breathe as a red stain spread on the front of his shirt. He looked up at Castle with a puzzled expression. "You killed us," he breathed out and then closed his eyes for the last time.

Castle sat back on his heels and then looked up at Beckett as relief flooded them both. It was over – it was finally over and they had survived.

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	4. Chapter 4 Revelations

**Karma**

_Summary_: SPOILER ALERTS FOR EPISODE 15. And AU. Nieman had a clinic in Costa Rica. What if that was where Castle was for part of the 2 months he was missing? BTW, no major character deaths occur in this fic, because if they did, I'd warn you here. Rated T for violence and swearing, because this is Nieman and Tyson after all.

Author's Note: Sorry, sorry, sorry – my bad. I left out a couple of sentences about how Castle got out of the handcuffs, so I removed the chapter and added those and then posted again. Once again, thanks for all the follows, favorites, and reviews; they really mean a lot. And now we come again to the end of this story. Thanks for taking this journey with me. And cool sneak peek – can't wait until Monday.

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**Chapter 4 – Revelations**

'It's over' was the only thing Castle's brain could think of as he knelt on the ground, panting from the exertion of the struggle, staring up at Beckett, who stared back at him, also taking in deep breaths.

He felt euphoria – the same euphoria he had felt after shooting out the back window of her cruiser as it sank to the bottom of the river and pulling her to safety on the bank of the river; the same euphoria he had felt after grabbing the wires of the dirty bomb and yanking, and it didn't explode. It was over and she was safe – they were both safe.

He frowned slightly as she looked past him and held her hands up to show she was unarmed and then glanced over his shoulder as the doors of the police cars swung open and the officers piled out. He raised his hands slightly too, staying down. It would certainly be ironic to come through this and then be killed by friendly fire.

"Detective Kate—" Beckett started as the lead officer walked towards her.

"Beckett," the officer completed the sentence as she stopped in front of Beckett. "Yes, ma'am. We got the BOLO on you yesterday evening and one on Mr. Castle this afternoon. We've been looking for you since then. I'm Officer Patrice Trent."

"Thank you," said Beckett as she dropped her hands. "That's Jerry Tyson," she said pointing to the man on the ground, "and there are 3 more people inside the building. They shouldn't be any problem," she said, nodding at Castle with a slight smile.

"We'll take care of them," Trent said. "I contacted your precinct when we got the call and your team will be here shortly. Do you need medical assistance?"

Their voices interwove with Beckett's "No" and Castle's "Yes".

He stood and gingerly limped towards her. He would have run but as the adrenaline was wearing off, he realized that not only had he tweaked his bad knee again, but the skid on the gravel had ripped his pants and skinned some of the flesh off it. But his knee be damned – he needed to know if they had done anything to her, given her anything.

"I'll call an ambulance and the EMTs can decide," Trent replied diplomatically and moved away as she pulled out her radio.

When Castle reached her, they grabbed each other in a tight hug, each trembling at the thought of how this day could have ended.

"I'm sorry," Castle breathed into her hair, tears running down his face for the second time that day. "I should have figured this out sooner – I shouldn't have let you go alone."

"No, no," murmured Beckett, tears on her face also as she relished the feel of his warm strength around her. "I shouldn't have gone alone – I should have known it was a trap."

Castle closed his eyes and just held her, feeling her warmth in return, her heart beat. He had a million questions but those could wait.

It was Beckett who finally broke the hug as she pulled back to look at him questioningly. "How did you know about Boudreau and Tyson?"

Castle shrugged slightly as he gathered her back up, unwilling to part from her for even a second. "Just a hunch. He seemed off…not cold enough…a little too talkative. So I asked him on the way here how he felt about hitting Ryan with his gun in the hotel room to knock him out."

Beckett frowned at that. "But he didn't."

"No, but Boudreau said he did because Ryan was in his way," Castle replied. "That's when I figured out there were two of them. It was Boudreau you picked up the first time – his DNA was on the beer so that didn't match the tooth. But the second time, it was Tyson. Boudreau was probably the one waiting for you."

Beckett nodded and then spoke again. "And, wow – what you did in there – that was impressive. I didn't know you could do that."

Now was not the time for a serious discussion about Hollander's Woods either, but he would tell Beckett about it when they got home.

"I know a guy," Castle quipped instead, smiling slightly. "Research for Derrick Storm. I wanted the fight scenes to be authentic, so one of my contacts introduced me to a Mr. T—"

"—who had that ratty gym in the Bronx," Beckett finished.

Castle raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Royce took me there for training after I hit the streets with him," Beckett explained. "He said the self-defense that the academy taught was crap and if I was going to be watching his back, I needed to learn how to do it from the best."

Castle nodded. "Mr. T was really good, but it took me a couple of months before I didn't spend a lot of time on my back staring at the ceiling."

"Yeah," nodded Beckett. "It was mottled grey and green. Kinda looked like it had mold growing on it."

"Yeah," Castle responded.

"And how is Jessup doing?" Beckett asked. "Looks like he taught you something in return for helping him with his English paper."

"Yeah, I was going to surprise you," Castle murmured.

"You certainly did," Beckett replied, leaning against him again.

A slight clearing of the throat interrupted them.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," said Trent. "We could only find 2 people in the office – a woman and a man who looks like him," she said, pointing to the body on the ground.

"No, no – that's not possible – there were 3 – two men and a woman," replied Castle, shaking his head. He grabbed Beckett's hand and limped as quickly as he could into the office.

There, Nieman lay on the ground in the same position he had left her, but only Boudreau was handcuffed to the pipe.

There was no sign of the man in the suit, and Beckett noticed that several rolls of gauze were missing.

Castle swore as he looked around.

"They're both dead," Trent said. The radio on her belt chirped and she answered it and then looked at the couple. "The paramedics are here now."

"Good," Castle said as he took Beckett's hand and started towards the door, but Beckett resisted slightly.

"Castle, I'm fine," she said.

Castle turned to look at her. "Kate, did they give you something to knock you out?"

Beckett frowned slightly. That memory was hazy. She had been standing on the street and then she hadn't been. "I'm not sure…" she replied.

"Then you're not fine," Castle said. "And the sooner we get you checked out, the better I'll feel."

# # # # # # # #

By the time Beckett's team arrived, the EMTs had finished working on the couple and released them with the suggestion of going to the hospital for follow-up care.

The results from Beckett's blood test were ambiguous at best; they couldn't tell what she had been given, so further testing was suggested to be on the safe side.

Castle had the choice of removing his pants (which brought a slight quirk of the lips from Beckett) or having the torn trouser leg cut off so that the EMTs could access the site of the injury. He decided that removing his pants at this point wasn't a good idea and opted for the short-legged look. His knee had been irrigated, slathered in antibiotic ointment, and bandaged, and he was stepping down from the ambulance when Espo and Ryan pulled up in their car with Gates and Lanie close behind in Gate's car.

The meeting between the team was joyful, just as the one had been after Espo and Ryan had escaped from the building fire, with hugs all around, except for Gates and Castle who simply shook hands.

Gates looked at Beckett, appraising her. "Kate, how are you?"

"Shaken," the detective admitted, "but we're okay," she added, smiling at Castle.

The captain looked over at the body on the ground. "Tyson?" she said simply.

Beckett nodded as she pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "Boudreau and Nieman are inside."

"Tyson wasn't Boudreau?" Ryan asked.

Castle shook his head. "An evil clone that Nieman had made. They used him to make sure the DNA didn't match so you couldn't hold Tyson."

"Son of a bitch," Espo swore.

"I'm sure the DA will want to question them personally to find out what their motive was in this attack," Gates said.

"Yeah, as if that isn't obvious," growled Ryan.

"Uh, well, that's not going to be possible," Castle replied.

Gates quirked an eyebrow at him.

"They're dead, sir," said Beckett. "Killed during the struggle."

"I see," Gates said. She thought a moment. "We'll need your statements as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir," said Beckett. She looked at Espo and Ryan for a moment and then back at Gates and then at Castle who gave a slight nod. "Sir, can we talk to you in private?"

The duo of detectives frowned as Beckett raised an eyebrow at them.

"We'll just go inside and see what Lanie's found," Espo finally huffed.

Gates waited until they walked off and then turned back to the couple.

Beckett took a breath before starting. "Sir, we need to tell you something off the record. It's about why this happened."

It was Gate' turn to frown at them. "Go ahead."

"Nieman had a clinic in Costa Rica where she did facial reconstruction," Beckett said. "It burnt down a couple of months ago."

Gates nodded. She already knew that. "And?"

"She said I burnt it down when I was missing," Castle said simply.

"Really?" asked Gates, astonishment written all over her face. "And you believe her?" she asked Castle. "Need I remind you that she's a lying psychopath? And why does that have to be off the record? It could clear up where you were during that time."

"Because it's probably classified." Castle paused for a moment. "Nieman did facial reconstruction on assets for the CIA, but she was also doing side jobs that weren't government approved, so they needed to send someone in to find out."

"You?" Gates asked incredulously, pointing a finger at him.

"Yeah," said Castle. "Apparently I fit the bill – handsome man in a car wreck on the way to his wedding and then requiring facial reconstruction – couldn't have it done state side because someone would find out." He paused. "It was the perfect cover story."

"And the government choose you?" Gates repeated.

Castle shook his head. "No, not the government – my father." He paused again. "He's a Black Ops asset for the CIA."

"Your father's a spy?" Gates asked.

"Yes, ma'am – sir," Castle replied.

"I see." Gates nodded. "So Nieman and Tyson planned this whole thing because you burned down her clinic? As an act of revenge?"

Castle shook his head. "No. Because I found out who her other clients were. They wanted to know how much the CIA knows and they used Beckett as bait to get to me."

"But you don't remember what happened when you were missing," Gates stated.

Castle shook his head. "Not a clue. But they seemed to think they could get that information."

"I see." Gates studied him for a moment. "Have we had dealings with…your father before?"

"Yes, sir," Beckett replied. "The Ted Rollins case – he was Anderson Cross."

"My father recruited him and Blaine killed him." Castle took a breath before he continued. "And then my father killed Blaine."

"Are you certain about this, Mr. Castle?" Gates asked.

"Oh, yeah," Castle said.

Gates stared at them for a moment. "And you're taking Nieman's word that this is why they did this?" she finally asked.

"No, sir," said Beckett. "There was a third man in the room and he's not there now."

"He was going to give me something so that I'd remember," said Castle.

"And did he? Do you?" Gates asked.

"No," said Beckett. "Castle knocked Boudreau and the man out and then handcuffed them together. When Tyson was chasing us, that man managed to free himself and escape."

"I see," said Gates again. She looked at Castle. "Was that your father in the room?"

Castle shook his head. "No, he was much younger – unless Nieman did some facial reconstruction on him."

"And you can identify this man?" Gates asked the couple.

Castle nodded slightly. "I can sit with a forensic artist, but I don't think it will do any good. He was wearing a full beard that was probably fake and had thick bushy eyebrows and wiry brown hair."

He paused for a moment. "Given that my memory of those months was erased, I'm sure that if the NYPD said anything about this, the CIA would deny it, just like they would deny any involvement in the Rollins case."

Gates nodded. "I see." She paused for a second. "Anything else you want to tell me?"

Castle thought a moment and then shook his head. "No, that's it."

Gates thought further. "So what are you going to tell 1PP?"

Beckett pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "That Nieman and Tyson planned this for revenge for Castle discovering who he got out of prison."

"I see," Gates said. She thought for a moment. "And why are you telling me this?"

"Because you deserve to know the truth," said Beckett simply.

Gates nodded again. There was no proof of anything else. "And this won't be one of those cases that keeps on giving?" she asked.

Castle shook his head. "I hope not, sir."

Gates nodded again and came to a decision. She looked over at Espo and Ryan who were lurking by the front door of the office and motioned to them.

"Why don't you two take today and tomorrow off, get checked out, and then come to the precinct to give your statements," she said to Beckett and Castle as Espo and Ryan walked up.

"Can you give them a ride home?" she asked the boys. "I'm going to stay longer to see what we can find."

"Yes, sir," they all replied.

"Oh, and Mr. Castle," Gates said as they turned to walk to the car, "you know the rules of my team – they must always tell someone where they are going, understood? Make sure you remember that."

Castle looked at her hopefully. "Yes, sir, I will."

"See that you do," Gates said and then turned to walk into the building as Castle smiled broadly at Beckett.

# # # # # # # #

Gates personally spoke with the security guard who had called in the incident. He hadn't seen anyone else on premises but the three people in the fight, but he had just gotten the latest issue of Sports Illustrated and there wasn't usually this much excitement on this post. She thanked him for his cooperation before walking into the office where the bodies were.

Lanie was winding up her preliminary examination of the bodies as they were zipped into body bags.

"Dr. Parrish," Gates said, "after you complete Boudreau's autopsy, please call me with the results."

"Yes, sir," Lanie replied.

Gates nodded and then walked back outside, pulling on a pair of latex gloves. She slowly walked around the perimeter of the property, inspecting the fence, until she finally found what she was looking for. Someone had cut a hole in the fence and it looked recent, based on the lack of rust on the end of the links. There was also a strands of wiry brown hair trapped in one of the broken links, and upon carefully examination, spots of dried blood on some others.

She took out the plastic bag she had gotten from CSU and then carefully tweezed the strands off, depositing them in the bag and then scraped the blood off the links with another bag she had turned inside out. She would personally have these analyzed by the lab.

# # # # # # # #

Castle and Beckett decided to stop by the loft to shower before going to the emergency room. Beckett had been in the same clothes for almost 2 days and felt rather grimy, while Castle opted to put on pants whose legs were the same length and not make a trend setting fashion statement.

The visit was uneventful. Beckett's blood tests at the hospital came back negative – whatever they had given her to knock her out had worn off by this time.

The MRI of Castle's knee showed that there was minimal damage, but he needed to be careful with it for the next couple of weeks while it healed.

The couple spent the rest of the evening and most of the next day in bed, catching up on sleep and other things, while Martha and Alexis hovered around them once again, until Castle sent them off to the movies.

They then sat down on the couch to watch recent episodes of Temptation Lane, but Beckett finally nodded off with her head resting against Castle's shoulder.

He thought about picking her up and carrying her to bed when his knee twinged – nope, not going to happen – so he shifted himself so that Beckett was looked more comfortable and just enjoyed the fact that they were here together.

He had started to drift off himself while Beckett's phone chirped, waking her up.

"Oh, hey," she said, pushing the hair out of her face and sitting up, blinking her eyes several times. She picked up the phone and looked at the caller ID.

"It's Lanie," she said. "Why don't you go get ready for bed and I'll join you in a minute."

Castle nodded and kissed her on the forehead.

# # # # # # # #

He had finished brushing his teeth and stood in his boxers, staring into the bathroom mirror as his fingers traced the scar from the gunshot wound on his side. Lanie said it would fade over time, but it would still be there, much like Beckett's scars.

He turned his head slightly as Beckett padded into the room and snuggled up to his back, reaching her arms around him, laying her head against his back.

"She was a psychopath and a liar," Beckett said softly.

Castle nodded and then scooted them around so that she was now in front of him, his chest pressed to her back. "Yeah, but I think she was telling the truth then. I mean, I wouldn't put it past my father to do something like that. He's used us before." He nibbled on her ear for a minute. "What did Lanie say?"

"That she completed the autopsy on Boudreau." Beckett paused for a moment. "He died from an air embolism."

Castle took a deep breath. "They're really good at cleaning up after themselves, aren't they."

Beckett pulled away from him to turn to look at him. "Rick, what if they come after you again?"

Castle shook his head. "I don't think they will. If they wanted me dead, I wouldn't have come back – the Coast Guard wouldn't have found me in the dingy."

"Are you sure?"

Castle nodded. "A couple of weeks after I was found, I went to thank the captain of the Coast Guard vessel that found me. He said it was a fluke – they had received orders to change course that evening, but there's no record of any Coast Guard officer making that call."

"So they wanted you found?"

"Yeah, I think so." Castle hugged her again. "And I know the only reason I would willing miss our wedding is if someone came to me and said they knew where Tyson and Nieman were and gave me the chance to take them out."

Beckett relaxed into his hug for a few seconds and then smiled seductively at him. "You know, I'm awake now, and Martha and Alexis are out…"

"Yeah, they are, aren't they," said Castle, pulling away slightly. "Hold that thought."

Beckett frowned as he turned and took their robes off the bathroom door and held hers out to her.

"There's something else I want to do tonight – I need to do," Castle said.

Beckett nodded at his serious turn. "Okay," she said as she put on her robe while he put on his.

Castle then took her hand to lead her back to the couch. When they were settled, he turned to her.

"I need to tell you about Hollander's Woods."

# # # # # # # #

The End


End file.
